The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . A slightly less busy time around The Presbytery this week as the final schools start their summer holidays (what a difference in traffic on the roads!) . . . . . After celebrating our Masses on Sunday morning Fr D went on to celebrate the baptism of three infants at 12.15. These were the final families from the Parish who had completed the course of preparation for Infant Baptism this academic year. The Baptism Preparation Programme will recommence in the Autumn with eventual baptisms taking place on Sunday 22 nd November (Christ the King). All children (under school age) from practicing families the Parish need to undertake the course of preparation before a celebration of Baptism can take place - the Application Form for attending a course is available from the Parish Office during normal office hours. On Monday evening Fr D met with a young couple from a previous parish whom he is to celebrate marriage for in the latter part of August. This will be the third out of four children from the family where he has been asked to celebrate the marriage. One of those occasions when a priest realises how close he has become to a family . . . . . . . Tuesday morning, having celebrated Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition, Fr D went off in the car down to the diocesan offices in Crawley. He has completed another two of his marriage cases and has called a judgement session with the two other judges for the beginning of August when a decision concerning the cases will be rendered. He also began work on another case which he’d like to get ready for a judgement before he goes off on holiday. In the evening he almost didn’t know what to do with himself since his diary said that he didn’t have a meeting to go to! After Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D had the electrical engineers completing the final bits of ‘phase two’ of the refurbished lighting system in the church, as well as the fencing contractor to look at the next stage of the fencing project around our properties. The biggest section (around the car park) was completed last August and now the completion of the project will involve a short run along the ‘Leg of Mutton’ field, then down the dividing line between The Presbytery and the Sisters next door, and finally a run delineating the fire exit route down the back of the Parish Centre.  On Friday Fr D was meeting with the widow of a parishioner whose requiem we will celebrate next week and then had a ‘House Blessing’ to celebrate . .

Today’s Gospel reading is a continuation of Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom of God, described through several parables. When we first hear the parable of the man who buys a field with a hidden treasure, we may wonder about his ethics. Isn’t he, in effect, stealing the wealth from the previous owner? In Palestine, during this period, it was common for people to bury their valuables to protect them, especially in times of war. If they weren’t able to recover them later, others would benefit from them. Rabbis debated who was entitled to the treasure when it was found. The parable here assumes the finder, rather than the field’s previous owner, is entitled to it. In the second parable, “the pearl of great price,” the finder was actively seeking something valuable rather than stumbling upon it like the person who found the treasure in the field. Finally, in the third parable, the fishermen are looking for what is good and throwing away what doesn’t serve them. All three parables emphasize the value of what is found and the focused response of the “finders,” whether the person was actively seeking a treasure or stumbled upon it. The point Jesus is making is that the Kingdom of God is worth everything we have and more. A wise person with will sacrifice anything and everything to acquire the Kingdom. What we receive in return will far surpass what we have to give up or renounce.  The passage ends with Jesus pointing out to the disciples that there is treasure in both old and new teachings. The old teachings are the Hebrew Scriptures (aka the Old Testament), and the new teachings are from Jesus’ life. Jesus doesn’t surpass the old, but he upholds the wisdom found there, even while he re-interprets some of the Jewish laws. Questions of the week • When have you sold/given up something valuable so that you could attain something more worthwhile? • Think of some “old” treasure of faith (perhaps a Bible verse, a scripture story, some wisdom from a parent or elder) that you still hang onto.

The new edition of our Deanery newsletter is now available at the back of Church/on the Parish website (www.sacredheartcobham.org.uk) and is an invitation to celebrate so many wonderful things that have been going on in the Deanery. There's also an account of the conversations that clergy have been having about pastoral provision in the times to come and some of the important principles that have been at the heart of their discussions. Please do have a read, and, as we look forward to welcoming Fr Stephen Wang as our new Bishop, let’s remember Archbishop Richard’s constant refrain that ‘all is to be rooted in prayer.’ VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE